Kashmir Under Ashoka

The son of Binder Sar and the grandson of Chander Gupta Maurya achieved greater name and fame than his father and grandfather. He is not only one of the greatest kings of India but also of the entire world. He was born in 273 B.C. and died in 232 B.CWatch Full After the death of his father, Binder Sar - the king of Patli Putra, Ashok's elder brother Suman contended for the throne. But most of the ministers and prime minister Radha Gupt, in particular were against Suman. They considered Ashoka more capable and discreet. Therefore they helped him attain the reins of powers.

Ashoka had already gained experience of administration during his father's rule. Therefore, he had no difficulty in managing the state affairs when he ascended the throne. The first thing that he did was to restore peace in the kingdom. It took him full three years to do so. In fact the coronation ceremony was performed when he had established peace in his kingdom. Ashoka was a great philanthropist. He used to take his meal after feeding many thousands of Brahmins. He had a very busy schedule of work, which started very early in the morning and went upto midnight. He remained very active and kept himself informed of the latest goings on in the land. People were very honest during his reign.

The incidents of theft were unheard of. People had religious bent of mind and were truthful. Science had also made a good progress. Technology, medicine and surgery had also developed appreciably. Ashoka had a vast stretch of land under him to rule over. On the north side was snow-capped Himalayas, besides Nepal and Kashmir. His southern boundaries extended upto Mysore State. In the north-west were Baluchistan and Afghanistan. In the east flowed river Brahamputra, while in the west were Saurashtra and Junagarh, which formed part of his kingdom. In fact his empire was more extensive than the Moghals', or the Britishers'. It was a vast empire and needed the capabilities of a person like Ashoka to rule over it. The Imperial history of Kashmir begins in the third century BC with the rule of Asoka. At that time, Kashmiris became famous throughout Asia as learned, cultured and humane and the intellectual contribution of writers, poets, musicians, and scientists to the rest of south Asia was comparable to that of ancient Greece to European civilization. SADR-U-DIN